Norwich CastleOne of England's finest Norman Keeps

When the Normans invaded England in 1066, Norfolk was one of England's
richest and most populous counties. Its merchants traded across the
North Sea, fish was plentiful around its long coastline and its fields
were fertile and well-farmed.

To the invading Normans East Anglia looked like a veritable gold
mine, promising a steady income and high taxes. So it's no wonder that
bringing East Anglia under Norman control was one of William the
Conqueror's top priorities.

And just as in the rest of England, they started with a castle. Something to impress the English and show them who ruled.

It wasn't a small castle they were planning, either. Once the Normans
had chosen the ideal building site, they ruthlessly demolished anything
that was in the way - including about a hundred Saxon homes.

Norwich Castle started life as a motte and bailey castle. A wooden
fort sat atop the castle mound, surrounded by a complex of baileys and
defensive ditches. It's been estimated that the whole complex spread
across 23 acres and housed a garrison of Norman soldiers.

The First Siege

The famous stone keep of the castle hadn't even been started when
Norwich Castle was besieged for the first time - and by none other than
William the Conqueror himself.

The year was 1075 and Ralph Guader, the earl of Norfolk, plotted
rebellion with his borther-in-law. William learned of the plot and moved
to deal with it. Unfortunately, the earl was away on the continent
raising his army, leaving his young wife Emma to face the enraged
monarch. Emma bravely held the castle for three months, until William
granted her safe passage out of England.

A Royal Residence

The castle keep that's Norwich's most famous landmark wasn't begun until 1094 once the earthen mound had settled. William Rufus,
who started the building works, never actually saw the castle finished.
He was killed during a hunting accident in teh New Forest in 1100 and
was succeeded by his younger brother, Henry, who eventually saw the keep completed in 1121.

By then, Norwich Castle had been developed into a lavish royal
residence, seemingly floating in splendour above the town, the glowing
white Caen limestone of the upper story in stark contrast to the
building's base of dark flint.

We know but little of what went on in the Norman castle. The upper
floor held a great hall and the royal quarters, including parlour,
bedrooms and a chapel. The lower floor of the keep served as a storage
space.

No Norman king ever lived int he castle and Henry I visited only once, at Christmas 1121.

A Castle Recycled

East Anglia remained a rich and prosperous area, and over time the
castle's military importance declined. In the 14th century, Norwich
castle keep was turned into a prison - a function it held until 1883.

And since then? Rather than let it fall into ruin - a fate that
befell many Norman castles in England - Norwich's impressive Norman keep
has been turned into a museum. The badly weathered Caen limestone was
replaced with Bath stone. The prison building were demolished and today,
the castle tells the story of Norfolk's wildlife, artists and
craftsmen. It tells of prison reform, describes Norfolk's history and
even displays the largest collection of teapots in England.

From a defensive motte and bailey castle, designed to intimidate the
citizens of Norwich, to a much-loved landmark that delights, entertains
and informs thousands of visitors each year.